Pre-AP Reading Assignments for Week of Oct. 3-7

By Monday, Oct. 3, Pre-AP I students should have read the following parts of The Illusionist:

• The introduction
• The preface
• Through the * on page 21

Pre-AP II students should have read the first chapter of Lord of the Flies, "The Sound of the Shell."

By Oct. 10, Pre-AP I students should have read through the * on page 60. Pre-AP II students should have read to page 58 (chapters 2 & 3; "Fire on the Mountain" and "Huts on the Beach").

All Pre-AP Classes: Literary Terms Six-Weeks' Test Preview

Tomorrow (9/29) you will take your exam for the first six-weeks' grading period. Please be prepared. In case you have forgotten, you will need to demonstrate your mastery of these literary devices by being able to recognize examples of them and produce your own sentence-length examples, as well:

• Alliteration


• Allusion


• Diction


• Hyperbole


• Metaphor


• Onomatopoeia


• Oxymoron


• Paradox


• Personification


• Simile

Additionally, Pre-AP II students are responsible for the following terms:

• Anaphora


• Apostrophe


• Foreshadowing


• Flashback


• Imagery


• Metonymy

Remember, failing this test will result in your automatic assignment to Patriot Academy on Friday Sept. 30th, and you will be unable to retest or submit corrections until you have attended a post-test tutorial.

English II: 8 Step Writing Process

We have just finished reviewing the 8 steps of the writing process. If you lose your illustrated copy, download another.

On Friday you will need to to turn in your evidence for steps 2 (brainstorming), 4 (bubblemapping), 6 (rough draft), and 8 (final draft). I will be looking for evidence of revising and editing on your rough draft (this is technically step 7).

All of the above will be graded separately and then collectively for a 6-weeks final grade.

In case you have forgotten the prompt it was along the lines of

Write an essay a story about a time you struggled with doing the right thing and the lesson you learned as a result.

English I (Pre-AP): Geography in The Alchemist

In class we completed a map of locations Santiago visits in The Alchemist. Use your online search skills to place the locations on page 1 of this PDF on the map on second page.

You may color and otherwise annotate the map as you choose.

Pre-AP English II: Lost at Sea

Test your survival skills: Play Lost at Sea!

Follow the link, read the scenario, and select your six items (a sextant is a navigational tool, C rations are food, and you're too young for the Puerto Rican rum).

If you didn't do this in class, print out the results after you press the "submit query" button. Turn in your original results (you can play multiple times to see what helps (or doesn't) your survival rate, but be honest with the results of your first attempt).

Good luck!

Pre-AP English II: IWA #1b

Authors carefully select the literary devices they use in order to produce a specific effect in their readers' minds. While Benet’s “By the Waters of Babylon” and Shelley’s “Ozymandias” share setting elements, the writers create drastically different moods. In a well-developed essay compare the writers uses of imagery and diction in the development of the contrasting moods of their works.

Review your packet on mood and tone for “By the Waters of Babylon” and repeat the mood exercises for “Ozymandias” (see below).


Tips to success:

Do not simply recount the tragedies the characters encounter. Extensive plot summary will result in a REDO grade (no points), not a REWRITE (70 points). Look at diction, metaphor, imagery, etc., and how the author’s use of these techniques changes over the course of the story to help you explore the subject of the cost of wealth/money.

All essays must be submitted with the draft in the LEFT pocket (inside front cover) of a 2-pocket portfolio folder. Failure to meet these minimum requirements will result in the draft being returned to the student unevaluated and with no score recorded.

You will be sent to P.A. every day until you have submitted an a draft that earns at least a 70.

Drop-Dead Deadline: Tuesday, October 11, 2011.

"Ozymandias"
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

English I (Pre-AP): Venn Diagram for "Most Dangerous Game" Part II

In class today we finished our "MDG"/Buffy Venn Diagram and then compared and contrasted "MDG" and a segment of a Simpsons episode. If you missed today or world like another run at it, you can view "Survival of the Fattest" online.

English I (Pre-AP): Test Preview for 9/23

Tomorrow (9/23) you will be taking an AP-style multiple choice test on "The Most Dangerous GAme."

Please be familiar with the following literary terms, and vocabulary prior to the test. (Just because a word appears below doesn't mean it's the "right" answer.)

Literary Terms:

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Hyperbole
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron
• Paradox
• Personification
• Simile

Tone/Mood:

• Desperation

Vocabulary:

• Futile
• Inevitably
• Impulsive
• Rude

Pre-AP English II: Test Preview for 9/23

Tomorrow (9/23) you will be taking an AP-style multiple choice test on "By the Waters of Babylon."

Please be familiar with the following literary terms, and vocabulary prior to the test. (Just because a word appears below doesn't mean it's the "right" answer.)

Literary Terms:

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Anaphora
• Apostrophe (not the punctuation)
• Flashback
• Foreshadowing
• Hyperbole
• Imagery
• Metaphor
• Metonymy
• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron
• Paradox
• Personification
• Simile

Vocabulary:

• Elusive
• Forbade
• Idly

Pre-AP English II: Movie Quest Storyboards

Please select any movie, book, episode of television, etc., that fits the Quest archetype we've been looking at. Using a storyboard handout, please draw and discuss how the work you've selected meets the six criteria:

1. Quester: Who goes on the quest?
2. Destination/Prize: What is it the quester wants?
3. Mentor: Who give the quester guidance or whatever else s/he will need to fulfill the quest?
4. Challenges/Trials: Give two examples of things the quester must overcome.
5. Underworld: Where does the quester have to face down death or come to terms with mortality?
6. True Objective: What does the quester ultimately get that surpasses what s/he went on the quest to get in the first place?

Due Wednesday, Sept. 28.

English I (Pre-AP):Venn Diagram for "Most Dangerous Game"

In class we watched an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and compared and contrasted it to "The Most Dangerous Game" with a Venn Diagram. Unfortunately, the "Homecoming" episode is not currently available online for free. This means if you missed it, you'll need to come in before or after school to work on the assignment.

If by some chance, however, you know someone cool enough to own Season Three of BtVS or if you pick up the episode via iTunes or Amazon Video on Demand (both $1.99) or your Netflix account, you may work on the Venn Diagram on your own time. Just make the left-hand section "Most Dangerous Game," the right-hand section "BtVS: Homecoming," and the middle section "Both." The more quality entries on the chart, the higher your grade.

Pre-AP English II: Quest/Hero's Journey Storyboard (Waters of Babylon)

Review "By the Waters of Babylon" and identify the key aspects of the "Hero's Journey" in the six sections of the Storyboard Handout.

In the three boxes across the top, draw a picture representing the Quester (Box 1), the Destination/Prize (Box 2), and the Mentor (Box 3). Accompany each illustration with a quote from the story that backs up your identification for what you've drawn.

In the bottom three boxes, draw two examples of Challenges/Trials the quester overcame (divide Box 4 and the lines beneath it in two), the Underworld (Box 5), and the True Objective (Box 6). Again, a quote from the story should roughly match your picture.

You will have time to work on this in class tomorrow (9/22), but use today's work as a guideline of how much you'll need to complete tonight.

English II: The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant

Today we finished reading the story "The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant" in class. The general consensus among students was that you wouldn't do what the narrator did, so please rewrite the ending as if *you* were the 14-year-old narrator. (Ladies, if you choose, you'll be a nameless 14-year-old female narrator who has just paddled the crush of your life, "Steve" Mant, upstream).

Continue to write in first-person past-tense narrative. Do NOT just summarize what you'd do. Use Wetherell's style as your guide.

Need to refresh the story in your mind as your rewrite the ending? Find it here.

Pre-AP English II: Story Archetypes

Pre-AP English II: Character Archetypes

Here's the presentation from class today. Please complete your notes, they may prove useful in future essays and test preparations. (The Lord of the Rings clip should be audible now.)

Yearbook: Animoto Project

On a whim, I just checked animoto.com on my classroom computer and it appears the district has unblocked it. That means it'll be easier for Sara and her marketing team to build videos to promote the yearbook.

This does not mean you should wait until Monday to work on your project. Here's the PowerPoint from class to walk you through the process.


Remember, you need to include at least 10 pictures (classroom-appropriate; no bathroom mirror booty shots) with a well-suited theme and music.

Email me the link to your finished project (or post the link in the comments so everyone can enjoy!).

Due Tuesday, September 20

English II: Sentences Test Preview

Tomorrow's test will cover Present, Past, and Future tense verbs, as well as the Present-Perfect and Past-Perfect verb tenses. We won't cover direct and indirect objects, but do expect questions on moving information from the participle to before the subject (add a comma) and within the participle (do NOT add a comma) as well as joining two sentences together with a semicolon or with a comma plus a FANBOY.

Since I didn't post info on the Perfect tenses here's an overview.

Present perfect is created by joining have (or sometimes has with the past participle of the verb (often, but not always an -ed or -en ending).

• I have studied hard for this test.
• You have eaten all the pizza.
• He has lost all his money in unwise investments.
• We have taken first place in the soccer tournament for the past five years.
• They have never walked more than two steps without whining.

Past perfect is created by joining had with the past participle (the same word follows have or had in the present- and past-perfect constructions)

• Mr. Mikesell had always thought that freshmen were terrible until he had some as students. (note: the second had in the sentence is just the simple past tense)
• You had raised your hand to answer the question before I even finished asking it.
• Sammy had beaten George in every race until the last one.
• You and I had found the hidden picture before anyone else had even started looking.
• Tony and Maria had misplaced their wedding rings, but they never gave up hope of finding them.

English I (Pre-AP): Persuasive Techniques in "The Most Dangerous Game"

After reviewing the above presentation, on a sheet of papter analyze the section of "The Most Dangerous Game" where Zaroff tries to persuade Rainsford that the hunting of man should be acceptable to men like themselves (roughly pages 5-10). Notw which parts are logos-, ethos-, and pathos-based appeals.

A link to the story can be found in this earlier blog post.

Due Monday, September 19.

All Pre-AP Classes: Preview for Literary Terms Test #2

On tomorrow's test you should be prepared -- again -- to demonstrate your knowledge of the following literary devices by being able to recognize examples of them and produce your own sentence-length examples, as well:

• Alliteration


• Allusion


• Diction


• Hyperbole


• Metaphor


• Onomatopoeia


• Oxymoron


• Paradox


• Personification


• Simile

Additionally, Pre-AP II students are responsible for the following terms:

• Anaphora


• Apostrophe


• Foreshadowing


• Flashback


• Imagery


• Metonymy

Remember, failing this test will result in your automatic assignment to Patriot Academy on Sept. 19th, and you will be unable to retest or submit corrections until you have attended a post-test tutorial.

Consolidated Summer Assignment -- Stories w/ Links to Questions

Following are six pairs of short stories assigned for the summer assignment. You are expected to read at least one of them (feel free to read both), and then answer two of the questions that follow that story. If there are links to the discussion boards, do NOT post on the boards; just write your answer (or type it) regularly.

You will wind up reading a total of 6 stories and answering a total of 12 questions.

To save an audiofile, right click it and select "save link as" from the drop-down menu.

Week 1 (6/6-10): Irony

• The Lottery, Shirley Jackson (listen here)
  > Questions for "The Lottery"


• The Open Window, Saki (H.H. Munro) (listen here)
  > Questions for "The Open Window"

Week 3 (6/20-24): Coming of Age

• Araby, James Joyce (listen here)
  > Questions for "Araby"


• A&P, John Updike
  > Questions for "A&P"

Week 5 (7/4-8): Horror

• Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe (listen here)
  > Questions for "The Fall of the House of Usher"


• Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe (listen here)
  > Abridged Graphic Novelization Supplement
  > Questions for "The Tell-Tale Heart"

Week 7 (7/18-22): Prejudice

• Barn Burning, William Faulkner (listen here)
  > Questions for "Barn Burning"


• Cathedral, Raymond Carver
  > Questions for "Cathedral"

Week 9 (8/1-5): Magic Realism

• Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (listen here)
  > Questions for "Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"


• The Monkey’s Paw, W.W. Jacobs (listen here)
  > Questions for "The Monkey's Paw"

Week 11 (8/15-19): Irony (yes, again!)

• The Bet, Anton Chekhov (listen here)
  > Questions for "The Bet"
  > Alternate project for "The Bet" -- replaces questions.


• The Yellow Pill, Rog Phillips
  > Questions for "The Yellow Pill"

Pre-AP English II: "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"

Lose your copy of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"? Print out another copy!

English II: Simple Sentences w/ Future Tense

Time for 1en more simple sentences.

This time add future tense verbs to your sentences.

For instance: Dogs bark. barked. will bark. (or shall bark.)

To mix things up, even-numbered sentences must have a singular subject (e.g., A dog), odd-numbered sentences must have a plural subject (e.g., The dogs).

Each subject and verb may only be used once (i.e., only one sentence may be about a dog or dogs; only one sentence may involve barking.)

English I (Pre-AP) "Most Dangerous Game" Vocabulary and Meaningful Sentences

Step One: Look up definitions for the following vocabulary words:

• Agile (adj.) / Agility (n.)
• Bland (adj.)
• Debacle (n.)
• Droll (adj.)
• Ennui (n.)
• Lacerated (v./adj.) / Laceration (n.)
• Leech (n.)
• Palpable (adj.)
• Placid (adj.)
• Venerable (adj.)

Step Two: Create a meaningful sentence for each vocabulary word.

Remember:

• a meaningful sentence is made up of two independent sentences combined with a semicolon (;)


• the first sentence includes a vocabulary word


• the second sentence contains the definition of that vocabulary word


• the first word of the second sentence is not capitalized


• you should underline the vocabulary word and its definition

For instance, if the vocabulary word was:

Dangerous (adj.): perilous; risky; hazardous; unsafe..

a meaningful sentence would be:

I have always thought that skydiving was a particularly dangerous activity; the risk of having your parachute fail is not one I'm willing to take.

Due: Thursday, September 15th.

English II: Simple Sentences

Write ten (10) 2-word sentences.


The first word is the subject. Any noun will work.

The second word is a verb. It should be in present tense.

For instance: Dogs bark.


After you've written ten sentences, write each of the verbs in the past tense.

For instance: Dogs bark. barked.


To complete the assignment,

• Underline each subject.


• Put each present-tense verb in a rectangle.


• Put each past-tense verb in an oval.

Pre-AP English II: Timed Writing on "Waters of Babylon"

Authors use a variety of techniques to influence the reader's emotional connection to the text. Using the excerpt of "By the Waters of Babylon" below, write a well-developed essay exploring how Stephen Vincent Benét uses literary devices such as, but not limited to, diction and imagery, in order to shape the mood the reader experiences in the story as a whole.

Then I saw the dead god. He was sitting in his chair, by the window, in a room I had not entered before and, for the first moment, I thought that he was alive. Then I saw the skin on the back of his hand—it was like dry leather. The room was shut, hot and dry—no doubt that had kept him as he was. At first I was afraid to approach him—then the fear left me. He was sitting looking out over the city—he was dressed in the clothes of the gods. His age was neither young nor old—I could not tell his age. But there was wisdom in his face and great sadness. You could see that he would have not run away. He had sat at his window, watching his city die—then he himself had died. But it is better to lose one's life than one's spirit—and you could see from the face that his spirit had not been lost. I knew, that, if I touched him, he would fall into dust—and yet, there was something unconquered in the face.

English I (Pre-AP): "The Most Dangerous Game"

If you haven't finished reading "The Most Dangerous Game" please do so before class tomorrow. If you have lost your copy, please print out another.

English II: Essay Writing Notes

In preparation for tomorrow's retest on last Friday's essay, review your notes on today's discussion of essay content and technique.

Every paper must begin with a thesis paragraph. A simple thesis paragraph essentially tells your reader what you will prove (the thesis) and establish the support you'll offer to prove your point. For instance, for last week's essay an acceptable thesis would read something like this:

I agree with the critic's analysis of Vonnegut's portrayal of TV. I believe this to be true based on the way TV is shown in "Harrison Bergeron" and my personal experience.

If you disagree with the critic, you would change agree to disagree.

The thesis paragraph also acts as an roadmap for your reader to understand what will appear in your body paragraphs. In our example, body paragraph 1 will provide your discussion of how TV is presented in the story (and how it is -- or isn't -- desensitizing, numbing, and thought-stifling). Body paragraph 2 will contain your discussion of your personal experience with TV (and, again, how it is -- or isn't -- desensitizing, numbing, and thought-stifling).

Transition words are an excellent way to flow your writing from one paragraph to the next. (And don't forget to indent your paragraphs about an inch instead of skipping a line.) Furthermore is a good word to begin your second body paragraph in an essay like our example where the second body paragraph builds on the the ideas of the first. (However is a good transition word if the second body paragraph provides contrast to the first.) Therefore is a good transition word for moving into your concluding paragraph.

Your concluding paragraph/conclusion can be as simple as a brief summary of your thesis paragraph. An acceptable concluding paragraph for the sample essay would be:

Therefore, based on Vonnegut's protrayal of TV in "Harrison Bergeron" and my personal experience, I feel confident in saying the critic was right when he said that TV "has a desensitizing, numbing, and thought-stifling" effect on society.

Again, substitute wrong for right if that's what you're arguing.

Pre-AP English II: The "TransAmerica" Taxonomy

In class, we discussed Bloom's Taxonomy and compared it to working in San Francisco's TransAmerica Builiding.

Bloom's Taxonomy (or classification of higher-order thinking skills) claims that we learn better when we are being creative, and most students listed some kind of creative assignment as their favorite. At the other end of the spectrum, when all we're doing is memorizing or remembering something, we tend not to a) learn much of value, b) enjoy the work less.

The Remembering and Understanding levels of thinking, however, set a firm foundation for the higher-order (more-complicated, yet more-rewarding) levels. Just like the tower, if it has a shaky foundation, the occupants of the upper floors will be frightened, frustrated, and/or angry. For many, reading takes place at the Remembering and Understanding levels; things like annotation and dialectical journals can raise the level of thinking -- and enjoyment -- and pave the way for more-creative endeavors. (Because you'll learn better at higher levels of thinking, tests will be easier and writing will actually become enjoyable: it is creative, after all.)

If you lost your hand-out or were absent, please print out another.

Assignments Due as of 9/6

Please make sure you have the following assignments turned in when you return to class tomorrow:

English I (Pre-AP): Syllabus, Click the "Like" Button, Literary Terms presentation

English II (on-level): Syllabus, Click the "Like" Button, "Harrison Bergeron" Meaningful Sentences, FANBOYS Sentences, "Harrison Bergeron" study questions.

Pre-AP II: Syllabus, Click the "Like" Button, Summer Assignement (for students who were in Pre-AP I last year), Literary Terms presentation

Yearbook: Syllabus, Click the "Like" Button, 15 song titles about "time."

English II: Harrison Bergeron Test Preview

Those of you who took the hint in class and "pondered question 11" have already seen tomorrow's essay prompt. For those of you who didn't, it goes something like this:

According to one critic, Vonnegut presents television as "a kind of desensitizing, numbing, and clearly thought-stifling, rather than a thought-provoking, medium" that shares some of the blame for the state of Harrison's society. In a well-developed essay, agree or disagree with this critic's claim. Support your argument with text evidence from the story as well as empirical evidence from your own life-experience.

You'll have all period to write your essay, but tonight you may want to re-read the story and outline your essay ahead of time.

You will also need to use compound sentences in your essay, so review the semicolon (meaningful sentence-style) and comma+FANBOY methods. (BTW, that was a compound sentence.)

Pre-AP English I & II: Literary Terms Preview

On tomorrow's test you should be prepared to demonstrate your knowledge of the following literary devices by being able to recognize examples of them and produce your own sentence-length examples, as well:

• Alliteration


• Allusion


• Diction


• Hyperbole


• Metaphor


• Onomatopoeia


• Oxymoron


• Paradox


• Personification


• Simile

Additionally, Pre-AP II students should be able to produce their own sample sentences utilizing the following devices:

• Anaphora


• Apostrophe


• Foreshadowing


• Flashback


• Imagery


• Metonymy

Remember, failing this test will result in your automatic assignment to Patriot Academy on Sept. 6th, and you will be unable to retest or submit corrections until you have attended a post-test tutorial.

Half Price Books Labor Day Weekend Sale

Half Price Books stores are selling everything for an extra 20% off this weekend. It's a great opportunity to get your texts at a low price -- while they last.

Sale runs from the Sept. First (today) through the Fifth (Monday).

Here's a list of stores in the Metroplex.